Bill Cheek - World Scanner Report

REFERENCE INFORMATION

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Electronic addresses: CompuServe: 741G7,1176
FidoNet: 1:202/731 E-Mail: bcheek@cta .com

Index & Table of Contents to WSR always available
for free download from BBS or S5 for MS-DOS
floppy disk or $5 for laser printed hard copy,

PET PEEVE CONTEST
DEADLINE EXTENDED
to September 30, 1995

Is everybody happy? Or vvliat? Here it
is long after the deadline and there are
no entries for the Pet Peeve contest
announced last issue. Is it just that
summer is here, or are you guys so
bubbly and happy that you ha\>e nothing
about which to fume and gripe? Maybe I
shoulda saved this contest for the winter
when everyone is cranky and out of
sorts? For the benefit of new readers
starting this issue and those old readers
who misplaced the last issue of the
WSR, following are the rules and an
explanation of the contest:

One of my peeves was voiced on page 1 of last
issue, under the article, BRASS TACKS & STEEL
LUGNUTS About the Radio Business. Now I want
to hear yours, just as bold and brassy, no holds
barred. There will be a nice prize for each of the
top five submitters to be judged by Cindy and me.
Here are the rules, terms and conditions:

1. Submittals should be 200-400 words (500 the
absolute maximum), on your pet peeve about
anything related to the radio busitiess or hobby.
Keep the language clean, and avoid peeves about
individuals unless about a scam or rip-off.
Otherwise, peeves should be about inanimate
subjects, companies, groups, products, services,
methods, procedures, hardware/software, etc.

2. Deadline for receipt of your submittal is 2400-lirs,
(midnight), September 30. 1995. No exceptions.

3. Submit legible entries by Internet e-mail, Fido
netmail, CIS e-mail. Fax. postal mail, or private
file/message upload on the Hertzian Intercept
BBS. See the Reference Data box and the
Masthead above for addresses.

4. Prizes for each of the five winning entries will be
a PerCon Corp. Spectrum Lite FCC Freq¬
uency Database, Spruig ‘95 Ed, CD-ROM ,
ready to run, easy to use, with nearly 3-million
records. Requires Windows 3.1/up, 4-Mb RAM.
Prizes will be sent UPS-ground upon publication
of the selections so make sure we have a valid
street address. No shipments to PO Boxes!

5. Judges' decisions are arbitrary, capricious & final.

6. Winning names and entries will be published in a
forthcoming issue of the World Scanner Report ,
but anonymity of authorship is assured for those
who request it with the entry.

7. Future hint : Next contest will be like this one
except about our “ warmest fuzzies " in radio. ©

WORLD SCANNER REPORT

A Journal of VHF-UHF Radio Technology & Engineering

Published by COMMtronlcs Engineering at PO Box 262478; San Diego, CA 92196
Publisher/Edifor: W. D. Cheek, Sr, *,k.n. "Dr, Rigormortis "

Copyright © 1991-95 <All Rights Reserved* ISSN 1061 -9240

Volume S, Number 6 $5.00

WHY AIR OUR PET PEEVES?

Good question. Airing both gripes and
satisfactions aids and promotes a synergy
in our mutual attraction: hobby radio.
Speaking of which, here is a peeve
expressed by an incognito reader on the
Internet. Too bad he didn’t enter the
contest, but get a load out of this dude:

From: Deflatcna AOL-com Bill, are you ever
capable of answering a topic without injecting venom
and insult into nearly every sentence? Despite what
you think, not everyone is out to get you.

I read your fastest issue of World Scanner Report, and
you have three columns in there in which you explain
that you cannot provide your paying customers with
the same level of support that other merchants provide
theirs. The main reason, you say, is that ever
increasing numbers of people are trying to rip you off.

I don't know about everyone else, but I paid my $25
and I expect to get my money's worth. When someone
doesn't give me what he has committed to delivering, I
expect to get some or even all of my money back. I
(and I'm sure that most of your readers too) am not
out to "take you to the cleaners," as you write in
WSR, Mr. Cheek). We're decent, upstanding folks-
maybe just as good as you.

Let's look at it from my perspective. The current issue
has three columns devoted to your less than charitable
views of your customers; it has three columns from a
lady who says her husband's scanning hobby is A-OK;
and it has 2.5 columns on computer talk in which you
say "computers are hear to stay," and "don't buy OS/2
because it is not well supported around the world,"
other dubious bits of advice. Knock off a couple of
more columns for the address label, a plea to renew
the subscription and some other house-keeping kinds
of stuff. Add it up, and you get 20 columns of good,
solid info out of a possible 30. If it were one issue, I
suppose that I wouldn't mind, but it's been that way
for the last few issues. WSR is becoming less relevant
and more a platform for Mr. Cheek's personal views
(I'm sorry, that's not what I paid for). Yet, you've
already judged that I'm a scam artist and have told me
as much in print. What hope do I have of getting a
refund (I don't want one, by the way, I just don't plan
to renew the subscription).

The point of all of this rambling is that sometimes, Mr.
Cheek, you're wrong and the other guy is right. I'm
not saying that this is the case here-there's a lot to
argue with in what I've said. But if you're not willing
ever to concede that you make mistakes or that the
other guy's point of view is equally valid, don't expect
me to take you seriously.

ED: Hey, dude, bite me like a dang snake!
Your nasty hide-behind-a-screen-name

message is so pertinent, I thought I’d display
it here as a textbook example of exactly what
I meant in last month's Brass Tacks essay.

1 don 7 know which horse you rode in on, but
it 5 the exact species that adds to the cost of
business and results in higher prices for
everyone, not to mention a bad attitude. I
answ ered you in great detail on the Internet,
the following cuts to the chase:

L_ If you feel you aren 7 getting your
money's worth, you need only ask for a
refund of all unsent issues. That has always
been our policy. I will not, however, sell you
a book or a stack of back issues so you can
run down to your office copier and duplicate
them and then come back whining for a
refund. Nor will I sell you a kit or do-it-
yourself part so you can blow it to
smithereens and then howl for a refund or a
free replacement. Why should everyone else
have to pay for your failure? Companies
who provide that sort of “satisfaction"
policy* may be doing YOU a favor, but the
rest of us have to pay for it. You think THEY
absorb the loss from your stupidity? Ha!
They make the rest of us pay with higher
prices; that’s all.

2 Most radioists of any long standing are
honest, decent people. Radio has enjoyed a
fantastic growth over the last few years
where there are a lot of new people from all
walks of Life, some of whom don 7 know the
ropes and don 7 have an honest bone in their
carcass. Obviously, you don't understand
how only a small handful of that type can
break a small business. So, I don 7 care ij
you understand, aside from running last
month's article and this reply. I'm not going
to position myself and my family to be slicked
and skinned by the sicko slimeballs out there.

1 mentioned my respect for and appreciation
of our long time clients who were not
included in that categorization. Either you
didn 7 catch that or you 're one of those from
whom my family and I need protection.

2 Your assertion of my “dubious advice " is
certainly your opinion and you 're welcome to
it. But I stand on the advice that OS/2 is not
a very good operating system for radio
hobbyists, especially entry level types and
even most journeymen computists. There is
no widespread support for OS/2 and it is a
very difficult system to learn. Things that

9/1/95 - 8:50 AM ~ Page 1

work all day long with MS-DOS and
Windows can and do choke under OS/2.

4 You said you felt we offered 20 good
columns out of 30. That is arguable, but
even supposing it's true, I *d like you to show
me ANY other magazine or newsletter that
offers such a HIGH percentage! Personally,
I think you for the compliment. I wish
everyone would rate us so highly! I am
worried about making every issue contain 5
or 6 columns of interest to each reader!

£ Soooo, you didn't like Janet Cravens'
article and a few others? Should I send you
an advance copy of the WSP each month for
your personal approval? Ahem, better get
your wallet open and start fishing out more
cold cash for that privilege, pal. .

Wliat makes you think I don't fess up
when I'm wrong? Or don't concede my
mistakes? (Check the back issues!) You
didn 7 cite any examples so I don 7 have the
foggiest idea of what you 're talking about.
As far as conceding that “the other guy’s
point of view is equally valid'', well you got
a point there. I don 7 concede fallacies and
horse feathers. Points of view are NOT
equally valid; they are only points of view;
nothing more. O.J. Simpson's point of view
is that he is innocent. So should he be let
go? Harumph! If you want to think the sk\>
is chartreuse, that's fine, but I sure wouldn 7
feel obliged to concede anything, except
maybe that you 're color blind or weird.

Your refund is available upon request.
Meanwhile, if you want any credibility or
respect from me, use your real name when
you communicate with me. Otherwise, all I
see is a snotty, vicious, nincompoop hiding in
the dark, to whom I will not pretend civility,
sociability, or respect. You could be a drug
peddler or a government agent for all I know.

SCANNER DATABASE

©1995 Roy D. Schahrer

_ Reprinted by permission _

Here it is, Roy Schahrer’s comprehensive
database of all scanners ever made (of which
he is aware.) Last time I published this list
for Roy was in Vol-2 of my Seamier Mod
book where about 250 scanners were listed.
The list has since grown to 527. One reason
for publishing this fine list is as a public
service. Another is to solicit your additions,
corrections, or comments to help keep it
updated.

The list should be self explanatory, with only
four fields of data: brand name, model name
or number. Programmable?, and number of
channels. Codes used are Y=yes, N=n<x ?=
uncertain/unknown. Non-programmables are
usually crystal controlled. Please send me
your input which I’ll forward to Roy so he

can keep the list updated. Hat’s off to Roy
Schahrer of Tempe, Arizona:

Brand

Model

Prog

UC han

Alaron

B-8002

?

?

Alinco

DJ-X1

Y

100

AOR

AR-22a

Y

l

AOR

AR-22b

Y

1

AOR

AR-22c

Y

1

AOR

AR-22d

Y

1

AOR

AR-22e

Y

1

AOR

AR-33

Y

2

AOR

AR-160

Y

16

AOR

AR-800

Y

20

AOR

AR-880

Y

20

AOR

AR-900

Y

100

AOR

AR-950

Y

100

AOR

AR-1000

Y

1000

AOR

AR-1500

Y

1000

AOR

AR-2000

Y

1000

AOR

AR-2001

Y

100

AOR

AR-2002

Y

20

AOR

AR-2500

Y

2016

AOR

AR-2515

Y

2000

AOR

AR-2800

Y

?

AOR

AR-3000

Y

400

AOR

AR-3000a

Y

400

AOR

AR-8000UK

Y

1000

ASA

AirPro 2

?

?

B&K

PF-1

?

?

Bearcat

8 Trk Scanner

?

4

Bearcat

BC-3

?

0

Bearcat

BC-4

?

?

Bearcat

BC-5

N

8

Bearcat

BC-5 IILU

N

5

Bearcat

BC-12

N

10

Bearcat

BC-15

N

10

Bearcat

BC-16

?

?

Bearcat

BC-50XL

Y

10

Bearcat

BC-55XLT

Y

10

Bearcat

BC-60XLT

Y

?

Bearcat

BC-65XLT

Y

10

Bearcat

BC-70XL

Y

16

Bearcat

BC-70XLT

Y

20

Bearcat

BC-80XLT

?

?

Bearcat

BC-100

Y

16

Bearcat

BC-100XL

Y

16

Bearcat

BC-100XLT

Y

100

Bearcat

BC-101

Y

16

Bearcat

BC-140

Y

10

Bearcat

BC-140XL

Y

10

Bearcat

BC-142

Y

10

Bearcat

BC-142XL

Y

10

Bearcat

BC-144XLT

Y

?

Bearcat

BC-145XL

Y

16

Bearcat

BC-147XL

Y

16

Bearcat

BC-150

Y

10

Bearcat

BC-151

Y

10

Bearcat

BC-155

Y

16

Bearcat

BC-160

Y

16

Bearcat

BC-170

Y

16

Bearcat

BC-172XL

Y

20

Bearcat

BC-175XL

Y

16

Bearcat

BC-175XLT

Y

16

Bearcat

BC-177XLT

Y

16

Bearcat

BC-178XLT

Y

?

Bearcat

BC-180

Y

16

Bearcat

BC-20/20

Y

40

Bearcat

BC-200

Y

16

Bearcat

BC-200XLT

Y

200

Bearcat

BC-201

Y

16

Bearcat

BC-205XLT

Y

200

Bearcat

BC-210

Y

10

Bearcat

BC-210XL

Y

18

Bearcat

BC-210XLT

Y

40

Bearcat

BC-210XW

Y

20

Bearcat

BC-211

Y

18

Bearcat

BC-220

Y

20

Bearcat

BC-220FB

Y

20

Bearcat

BC-220RC

Y

20

Bearcat

BC-220XLT

Y

200

Bearcat

BC-250

Y

50

Bearcat

BC-260

Y

16

Bearcat

BC-300

Y

50

Bearcat

BC-300a

Y

10

Bearcat

BC-310a

N

?

Bearcat

BC-330a

?

?

Bearcat

BC-350

Y

50

Bearcat

BC-350A

Y

50

Bearcat

BC-400XLT

Y

16

Bearcat

BC-560XLT

Y

16

Bearcat

BC-580XLT

Y

100

Bearcat

BC-590XLT

Y

100

Bearcat

BC-600XLT

Y

100

Bearcat

BC-760XLT

Y

100

Bearcat

BC-800XLT

Y

40

Bearcat

BC-855XLT

Y

50

Bearcat

BC-890XLT

Y

200

Bearcat

BC-950XLT

Y

100

Bearcat

BC-One

Y

?

Bearcat

BC2500XLT

Y

400

Bearcat

BC8500XLT

Y

400

Bearcat

CompuScan 2100

Y

200

Bearcat

Five/Six

N

6

Bearcat

Four/Six

N

6

Bearcat

III-H/U

N

8

Bearcat

III - L/H

N

8

Bearcat

IV

N

8

Bearcat

Thin Scan AC

?

4

Bearcat

Thin Scan BC H/U

?

4

Bearcat

Thin Scan BC L/H

?

0

Bearcat

Two-Tour

N

4

Black Jaguar

BJ200 Mk3

Y

16

Black Jaguar

BJ200 Mk4

Y

16

Browning

XM-888

?

?

Camis

HSC-010

Y

1000

Camis

HSC-050

Y

1000

Channel Master

CS6258

?

?

Channel Master

CS6790

?

?

Channel Master

CS6794

?

?

Claricon

37500

?

?

Claricon

Skv-Scanner

?

?

Cobra

SR-10

Y

10

Cobra

SR-11

Y

10

Cobra

SR-12

Y

16

Cobra

SR-15

Y

100

Cobra

SR-900

Y

16

Cobra

SR-9000

Y

10

Cobra

SR-901

Y

10

Cobra

SR-925

Y

16

Colt

228

Y

16

Conitel

102

Y

10

Comtel

203

Y

200

Comtel

204

Y

200

Comtel

205

Y

400

Craig

1254

?

?

Craig

4350

N

10

Craig

4350A

?

?

Craig

4351

N

4

Craig

4353

?

?

Craig

4354

?

?

Drake

?

?

?

Plectra

JR-1II

N

2

Plectra

JR-1U

N

2

PSC

RX-40 Mk 1

Y

1

PSC

RX-40 Mk 2

Y

1

Faiimate

HP-1000AB

1000 ?

Fairmate

HP-100P

Y

1000

Fairmate

IIP-200

Y

1000

Fairmate

HP-2000

Y

1000

FaNn

M8-HLU

N

8

FaNn

SlimScan 6 HLU

N

6

FaNn Courier

Cop-Scan

?

?

Fieldmaster

MF-200L

?

?

FOX

BMP 10/60

Y

10

Fox

Fox-Pac 100

Y

100

G.P.

7-2975A

?

?

G.P.

7-2985A

?

?

s/3 1/95 ~ 4:43 pm- The “World Scanner Report” © 1991-95; Volume 5, No 6; Page 2

GfE.

7-2990

?

?

Pace

Scan 10-4H/L/U

N

4

Realistic

PRO-49

Y

10

G.E.

7-2995A

?

?

Pace

Scan 10-4L

N

4

Realistic

PRO-50

Y

50

G.E.

?

Y

8

Pace

Scan 10-4U

N

4

Realistic

PRO-51

Y

200

G.E.

?

Y

4

Pace

Scan 108H

N

8

Realistic

PRO-52

N

8

Gemtronics

Scanmaster 12

?

?

Pace

Scan 108I1/L/U

7

7

Realistic

PRO-53

N

7

Gemtronics

Scanmaster 8

?

?

Pace

Scan 108L

N

8

Realistic

PRO-54

N

8

Globe

9700

?

?

Pace

Scan 108U

N

8

Realistic

PRO-55

N

10

GRE

GRE-10

Y

16

Pace

Scan 208

7

7

Realistic

PRO-56

N

8

Handic

006

?

?

Pace

Scan 208A

N

8

Realistic

PRO-57

Y

10

Handic

007

?

?

Pace

Scan 216

N

16

Realistic

PRO-58

Y

10

Heathkit

GR-110

?

?

Pace

Scan 308

N

16

Realistic

PRO-59

8

7

Heathkit

GR-740

Y

40

Pace

Scanmate 150

N

4

Realistic

PRO-62

Y

200

IlyGain

616

?

?

Panasonic

RE-1800

7

7

Realistic

PRO-77

N

8

H>Gain

618H

?

?

Pearce Simpson

Cherokee 8+8

N

16

Realistic

PRO-77A

0

7

HyGain

618L

?

?

Pearce Simpson

Cheyenne 8

N

8

Realistic

PRO-78

0

7

HyGain

618L/H/U

?

?

Pearce Simpson

Comanche 16

N

16

Realistic

PRO-508

Y

20

HvGain

625

?

?

Pearce Simpson

Gladding Hi-Scan

7

?

Realistic

PRO-2001

Y

16

HyGain

626

?

?

Pearce Simpson

PR- 78

7

7

Realistic

PRO-002

Y

50

HvGain

ProScan 16

N

16

Pearce Simpson

PR-160

7

7

Realistic

PRO-2003

Y

60

Icom

IC-2SRA

Y

60

Penn crest

7

7

7

Realistic

PRO-2004

Y

300

Icom

IC-4SRA

Y

60

Peterson

RM2/4

N

4

Realistic

PRO-2005

Y

400

Icom

R-l

Y

100

RCA

16S100

7

7

Realistic

PRO-2006

Y

400

Icom

R-100

Y

121

RCA

16S200

7

7

Realistic

PRO-2008

Y

7

Icom

R-7000

Y

100

RCA

16S300

N

8

Realistic

PRO-2009

Y

8

Icom

R-7100

Y

100

RCA

16S400

7

7

Realistic

PRO-2010

Y

20

Icom

R-9000

Y

1000

RCA

SCAN-AIRE

N

4

Realistic

PRO-2011

Y

20

JC Penney

981-6066

?

?

RCD

MRP-1H

N

1

Realistic

PRO-2020

Y

20

JC Penney

981-6067

?

?

RCD

MRP-1L

N

1

Realistic

PRO-2021

Y

200

JC Penney

981-6080

?

?

RCD

MRP-1U

N

1

Realistic

PRO-2022

Y

200

JC Penney

981-6081

?

?

Realistic

Comp 100

Y

7

Realistic

PRO-2023

Y

20

JC Penney

981-6082

?

?

Realistic

PRO-1

?

?

Realistic

PRO-2024

Y

60

JC Penney

981-6083

?

?

Realistic

PRO-2

7

7

Realistic

PRO-2025

Y

20

JC Penney

981-6084

?

7

Realistic

PRO-2A

7

7

Realistic

PRO-2026

Y

100

JC Penney

981-6085

?

?

Realistic

PRO-2B

7

7

Realistic

PRO-2027

Y

100

JC Penney

Pinto 981-6065

?

?

Realistic

PRO-3 A

?

?

Realistic

PRO-2028

Y

50

JIL

SX-100

Y

16

Realistic

PRO-4

?

7

Realistic

PRO-2029

Y

60

JIL

SX-200

Y

16

Realistic

PRO-4A

N

4

Realistic

PRO-2030

Y

80

JIL

SX-400

Y

20

Realistic

PRO-5

N

4

Realistic

PRO-2032

Y

200

Jolinson

Duo-Scan H/L

N

8

Realistic

PRO-5A

7

7

Realistic

PRO-2033

Y

10

Johnson

Duo-Scan H/U

N

8

Realistic

PRO-6

N

4

Realistic

PRO-2034

Y

60

Jolinson

Mini-Scan

N

4

Realistic

PRO-7

N

7

Realistic

PRO-2035

Y

1000

Jolinson

MoN-Scan H

N

8

Realistic

PRO-7B

N

8

Realistic

PRO-2036

Y

200

Johnson

MoN-Scan U

N

8

Realistic

PRO-9

N

8

Realistic

PRO-2037

Y

200

Jupitem

MVT-5000

Y

100

Realistic

PRO-10

7

7

Realistic

PRO-2038

Y

50

Kenwood

RZ-1

Y

100

Realistic

PRO-11

N

4

Realistic

PRO-2039

Y

100

Kris

Hand Scan

?

7

Realistic

PRO-12

N

4

Regency

156XL

Y

10

Kris

Hand Scan VIIF

?

7

Realistic

PRO-13

7

7

Regency

ACT-E10H/L/U

7

7

Kris

Tri Band

?

7

Realistic

PRO-14

N

10

Regency

ACT-E16H/L

7

?

Lafayette

HI-U-100

N

4

Realistic

PRO-16

N

7

Regency

ACT-E16H/L/U

7

?

Lafayette

Monitorscan 3B-8

?

8

Realistic

PRO-16 A

N

16

Regency

ACT-E8H

7

7

Maxon

WX-1

?

7

Realistic

PRO-20A

?

7

Regency

ACT-E8L

7

7

Midland

13-903

N

4

Realistic

PRO-21

N

4

Regency

ACT-EH/L

7

7

Midland

13-903 B

?

7

Realistic

PRO-22

N

6

Regency

ACT-M8H

7

7

Midland

13-904

N

4

Realistic

PRO-23

Y

50

Regency

ACT-M8H/L

7

?

Midland

13-908

?

7

Realistic

PRO-23

N

4

Regency

ACT-M8L

7

?

Midland

13-912

?

7

Realistic

PRO-24

N

4

Regency

ACT-R-l-High

N

1

Midland

13-914

?

7

Realistic

PRO-24

Y

16

Regency

ACT-R-l-Low

N

1

Midland

13-915

?

7

Realistic

PRO-25

N

8

Regency

ACT-R-l-UHF

N

1

Midland

13-916

N

4

Realistic

PRO-25

Y

100

Regency

ACT-R-10HLU

N

10

Midland

13-918

N

4

Realistic

PRO-26

N

4

Regency

ACT-R-20

N

20

Midland

13-919

N

4

Realistic

PRO-27

N

2

Regency

ACT-R-92AP

N

9

Midland

13-921

N

4

Realistic

PRO-30

Y

16

Regency

ACT-T-720A

Y

7

Midland

13-922

?

7

Realistic

PRO-31 A

Y

10

Regency

ACT-T16K

Y

7

Midland

13-925

?

7

Realistic

PRO-32A

Y

200

Regency

C-4 H/L/U

4

7

Midland

13-92511/'L/M

?

7

Realistic

PRO-33

Y

20

Regency

C403

N

4

Midland

13-927

?

7

Realistic

PRO-34

Y

200

Regency

D-100

Y

7

Midland

13-930

N

8

Realistic

PRO-35

Y

100

Regency

D-300

Y

30

Midland

13-934

N

8

Realistic

PRO-36

Y

20

Regency

D-310

Y

30

Midland

13-937

?

7

Realistic

PRO-37

Y

200

Regency

D-810

Y

50

Midland

13-940

?

?

Realistic

PRO-38

Y

10

Regency

DX-3000

Y

20

Midland

13-944

N

8

Realistic

PRO-39

Y

200

Regency

E106

N

10

Midland

13-950

N

16

Realistic

PRO-40

N

8

Regency

11-604

N

6

Midland

74-102

?

7

Realistic

PRO-41

Y

10

Regency

H-604E

N

6

Midland

?

N

4

Realistic

PRO-42

Y

10

Regency

HX-1000

Y

30

Morse Electphnc

SC600

?

7

Realistic

PRO-43

Y

200

Regency

HX-1200

Y

45

NDK

SX-200

?

7

Realistic

PRO-44

Y

50

Regency

HX-1500

Y

55

Nevada

3000

Y

7

Realistic

PRO-46

Y

100

Regency

HX-2000

Y

100

Nevada

MS-1000

Y

1000

Realistic

PRO-47

7

7

Regency

HX-2200

Y

100

Pace

Scan 10-411

N

4

Realistic

PRO-48

N

10

Regency

HX-650

N

6

s/31/95 -4:43 pm ~ The “ Worhl Scanner Report” © 1991-95; Volume 5, No 6; Page 3

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Regency

Revco

Revco

Robyn

Robyn

Robyn

Robyn

Robyn

Robyn

Robyn

Ross

Sakio

SBE

SBE

Sears

Sears

Sears

Sears

Sears

Sharp

Shinwa

Signal

Sonar

Sonar

Sonar

HX-750

N

6

Sonar

FR-105

N

?

HX-850

Y

55

Sonar

FR-2512

N

?

INF-1

N

?

Sonar

FR-2513

N

24

INF-2

Y

50

Sonar

FR-2514

?

7

INF-3

Y

60

Sonar

FR-2515

?

?

INF-5

N

7

Sonar

FR-2516

N

?

INF-7

N

10

Sonar

FR-2517

?

?

INF 10

N

?

Sonar

FR-2525

?

?

INF 50

?

?

Sonar

FR-2526

?

?

K100

Y

10

Sonar

FR-2527

N

?

K500

Y

40

Sonar

FR-2528

?

?

M100

Y

10

Sony

AIR-7

Y

40

M400

Y

30

Sony

AIR-8

Y

40

MX-3000

Y

30

Sony

CRF-V21

Y

?

MX-4000

Y

100

Sony

PRO-70 Mkl

Y

?

MX-4200

Y

100

Sony

PRO-70 Mk2

Y

?

MX-5000

Y

20

Sony

PRO-70 Mk3

Y

7

MX-5500

Y

20

Sony

PRO-80

Y

40

MX-7000

Y

20

Squires Sanders

FM-Alert

?

?

R1016

Y

16

SSC

SR001

Y

16

R1040

Y

10

Standard

AX-700

Y

100

R1050

Y

10

Surveyor

10HLP

?

?

R106

N

10

Surveyor

10P

7

?

R1060

Y

10

Surveyor

4II4U

?

7

R1070

Y

10

Surveyor

4UHF

7

?

R1075

Y

15

Surveyor

4VHF

?

?

R1077

?

?

Surveyor

8HLP

?

?

R1080

Y

30

Teaberry

ScanT

?

?

R1090

Y

45

Teaberry

T Scan

?

?

R1099

Y

45

Tennelec

MCP-1

Y

?

R1600

Y

100

Tennelec

MemoryScan MS-2 Y

16

R2060

Y

60

Tennelec

Tennetrac I

?

?

R2066

Y

60

Tennelec

Tennetrac II

?

?

R3020

Y

20

Tennelec

Tennetrac IV

?

7

R4010

Y

10

Trident

TR- 980

Y

125

R4020

Y

100

Trident

TR-1200

Y

1000

R4030

Y

200

Trident

TR-2400

Y

1000

R804

N

8

Uniden

MR-8100

Y

100

R806

N

8

Unimetrics

Digi-Scan 4+4

?

?

TK-16

?

?

Unimetrics

Digi-Scan 8

?

?

TMR-1 H

N

1

Unimetrics

Dura Scan 4

?

?

TMR-1 L

N

1

Unimetrics

Dura Scan 8

?

?

TMR-1 U

N

1

Vanguard Labs

WEPIX 2000-B

?

?

TMR-12

N

12

Wards

GEN-838A

?

?

TMR-8H

N

8

Wards

GEN-846A

?

?

TMR-8HL

N

8

Wards

GEN-856A

?

?

TMR-8L

N

8

Win

108

Y

200

TMR-8U

N

8

Yaesu

FRG-9600

Y

100

TS-1

Y

35

Yupiteru

MVJ 5000

Y

100

TS-2

Y

75

Yupiteru

MVJ 6000

Y

100

WIIAMO 10

Y

10

Y upiteru

MVT-3100

Y

100

Z10

Y

10

Yupiteru

MVT-7000

Y

200

Z30

Y

30

Y upiteru

MVT-7100

Y

1000

Z45

Y

45

Yupiteru

MVT-8000

Y

1000

Z60

Y

60

Y upiteru

VT125UK

Y

30

RS-2000E

7

70

Yupiteru

VT150

Y

30

RS-3000

7

50

Yupiteru

VT225

Y

100

t nn

7

7

1UU

l

100B

7

7

I ri

ri I

200

7

7

rib

4000

?

?

1 LI IN MEMORIAM

U

Hi-Bander

7

?

i

1

Hi-Lovv-Bander

7

?

HL-8+8

7

?

We were saddened to learn of the passing

9000

7

7

from this Life into the Next of one of our

SC-1600

7

16

readers. William Wilson, of Aberdeen. UK.

OptiScan 125M

Y

7

Sentinel I

N

8

May he rest in peace and amass power for

564-36280600

N

?

another assault upon the airwaves someday.

564-36290600

7

?

r

564-36330600

7

?

THE FUTURE OF

564-36390600

7

?

?

Y

?

RADIO & SCANNING

FZ-400

?

?

SR 001

R535

Y

Y

200

60

Well, this one is sure

to send ol’

FR-101

?

?

deflateridaol.

com scrambling for pencil

FR-102

?

?

and paper upon which to

demand his

FR-104

N

?

refund. We’re going to talk more about

computers with lots of “dubious advice”.
Sorry, I can’t help it. I have a vision. I
have a dream. My vision and dream do
not come from a bottle of alcohol or a
pipeful of smoking dope. I’d bet serious
money and one of my TurboWhopper
scanners on my vision being crystal clear
and the dream coming true. Listen up!

Radio, as we know it, is almost over.
The show is wrapping up: the drama is
in its final act; after which the name of
the play is going to change. And, hey,
Bunky, you’re going to have to change,
too; else take up knitting or hopscotch,
maybe. You think I’m kidding? I’m not.
Some fifteen years ago. Ed Bruce sang

“The Last Cowboy's Song ”. “The end

of a hundred-year waltz.....” It won’t be
long before the end of another hundred-
year waltz. Radio is changing.

Radio is an analog physical phenomenon
just like light, heat, gravity, mass, etc.
The universe seems to be an analog
entity. Bear with me for an explanation
of analog and what it means. If you
were to walk up an inclined ramp, you’d
be on an analog device. Walk up a set of
stairs, and you’re on a digital device.
Continuous, smooth motions, changing
or stable are analog in nature. Sudden,
jerky motions are digital in nature.

A 12” ruler is an analog device between
0-12". A voltmeter with a needle is an
analog device. A sundial is an analog
device. A clock with a smooth,
continuously moving second-hand is an
analog device. On the other hand, a
water clock (timed by drops) is a digital
device. Morse code is digital in nature.
So are smoke signals, traffic lights, brake
lights, turn signals, and “digital”
watches. multimeters, frequency
counters, etc....and computers.

Generally speaking, things of a digital
nature and those of an analog nature do
not mix well. You do one or the other,
but not both. There are exceptions.

Radio has a few. but only a very few.
Morse code is one of the best examples,
which is nothing more than turning a
radio carrier wave on and off in an
intelligent pattern. For example, three
staccato “on-offs” followed by three
longer “ons-ofTs” and concluding with
three more staccato “on-offs” generates
the well-known international distress
signal: S-O-S:

• •• rarara ••• Of

8/31/95 ~ 4:43 PM - The “World Scanner Report” © 1991-95; Volume 5, No 6; Page A

In this example there are three states of
possibility, each of which are used in
combination with the others to convey
meaning or intelligence: (1) a short
burst, (2) a longer burst, and (3) nothing.
Lest you’re confused, the “nothing” is
what goes between the bursts, short or
long. We think of digital as two-states,
on or off; 1 or 0, yes or no. etc, and it’s
true, most modem digital logic is two-
state. It just doesn 7 have to be.

The RF spectrum from DC to Daylight is
an analog, physical resource. It is most
easily used with other analog resources
like voice. Radio waves and voice go
together like pizza and anchovies; peanut
butter and jelly; dogs and fleas.

But there is a problem. Voice comm is
grossly inefficient, subject to misunder¬
standing, whether by stupidity, noise,
interference, deafness, or whatever.
Voice communication is also not very
secure and it can be very costly. The
times are changing with economy and
efficiency being key to the times.
Everything has to pay its own way, or it
is likely to be changed or eliminated.

Radio communications as we know it. is
right up there on the list for a critical
view by almost everyone who uses it,
with exception, perhaps, of we hobbyists.
If this status quo doesn’t change, we will
wake up some day to the sound of silence
on our radios....or a cacaphony of
shrieks, squeals, howls, static, peeps,
beeps, tweets, pops and farts. (Hell it f s
already that wav on CB, right?) Even
now, you can tune the shortwave and
scanner spectrums to see what I mean.
Pure, understandable, interesting, voice
signals are scarcer each year. No?

Not that voice radio communication is
going to disappear altogether; it is not.
Not in our lifetimes, anyway. But we’re
going to hear less and less of it. that’s for
sure. Already, the more interesting
public safety & business communications
arc frogging to the 800 MHz trunked
bands where monitoring with a scanner
is more difficult and a lot less fun.

It’s only going to get worse as these
agencies and users grit their teeth at the
same old problems of limited range,
limited intelligibility, and limited access
to the spectrum. Next stop, DIGITAL !!

Yes. voice and other forms of comms can
be digitized and imposed on a radio
carrier wave. The FBI. DEA. and other

federal agencies are using Digital Voice
Processing (DVP) in conjunction with
the Digital Encryption Standard (DES)
to throw completely undecipherable
signals all over the spectrum. Even if
there were no DES. it would still be
impossible for most hobbyists to decode
the signals.

That’s right. Bunky, you cannot readily
decode digital voice signals, and for
many of the same reasons we can’t
decode Mobile Display Terminal (MDT)
signals that are coming into vogue with
our public safety agencies.

And then there is an emerging analog
technique called spread spectrum , where
the signal is all over the band, controlled
by digital techniques. The hobbyist
cannot monitor spread spectrum.

In a word, the world’s radio comms are
gearing up to move into digital
teclmiques. most of which are not within
the capability of the hobbyist to detect
and to decode. The more this happens,
the fewer hobbyists will be left in the
arena and the less devlopment of new
hobbyist equipment.

This IS going to happen; it IS happening
because digital signals are MUCH more
efficient, thorough, speedier, reliable,
and less costly to produce than analog
signals. The change is not going to be
an overnight tiling, but it is happening at
a fast rate and scanning, as we know 7 it.
will be forever changed by the turn of the
century. We have to change, too. in
order to keep pace and to stretch our
hobby interests out there to where the hot
stuff is happening.

By and large, this means you have to get
computerized. You have to anyway,
because radio isn’t the only focus in the
digital revolution. It fact, radio is one of
the last bastions of analog dominance.
Already, our cars, washing machines.
VCR’s, and most other electronic
apparatus are computerized. I expect of
Edward Crapper’s flush toilet to become
computerized before long. Little do you
know....or maybe you do , that a personal
computer can be interfaced to almost
anything electronic for easier, faster, and
less toilsome operation.

This is where I see our hobby as an
extension of Life. All of my scanners are
computer controlled now. and a hell of a
lot of my work and other pleasurable
pursuits are computer based. There is a

LOT of radio related FUN to be had with
a computer in the background doing
work that you’d never do on a bet or a
dare. And the more the radio sendees
become computerized\ the more you're
going to ha\>e to , or else take up knitting.

Therefore, it will become the policy of
the World Scanner Report to take the
lead in gently, but firmly guiding the
hobby community into computer literacy.
There is no other recourse. We do not
have a choice. Well, I suppose some
people clung to their horses and buggies
for a while after Henry Ford introduced
his Model A. I guess others insisted on
telegraph messages even after the
telephone became a household tool, but
you get what I mean here?

HOW TO BUY A COMPUTER
FOR YOUR SHACK & STATION

I suppose most any computer will do for
basic needs around shop and shack, but
old clunkers and underpowered new ones
will be a millstone around your neck in
no time flat. Old and underpowered
computers may meet a few present needs
if not too rigorous, but there is almost no
room for growth if you’re lugging
around an old clunker.

A computer that’s bigger and better than
you are will challenge you to find bigger
and better uses for it besides keeping up
the family checkbook and playing stupid
video games. ( There are a dozen
computers around my shop , shack , and
home , and video games are forbidden
except under rare circumstances!) If
you already have an old computer, fine;
use the hell out of it. But if you are in
the market for a new one, there arc
certain guidelines that can save you some
heartache and ulcers later. It is important
to get equipped and ready for both now 7
and the future....which means it should
be adequate for the next 1-3 years. One
year is fine for those who can make a
living from their computers; but as a
radioist and leisure computist, you *11
want to make sure that new machine is
good for the next two or three years. By
that time, it will be outdated and ready
for lesser important duties

Stick to IBM/compatible computers, too!
Amiga and Atari are effectively gone.
Macintosh is a fine computer, but not
widely seen or used around the radio
scene. Old Apples and TI’s are
worthless. IBM/compatibles only, please!

8/31/95 ~ 5:01 pm ~ The “World Scanner Report" © 1991-95; Volume 5 , No 6; Page 5

You need to know how to buy a
computer with the minimum of what you
need. The below Computer Buylist is a
tabulation of all the important aspects or
variables associated with what you might
want or should require in a computer.

COMPUTER BUYUST

1. Case: desktop, mini-tower, tower

2. Power Supply: 100, ISO , 200, 250 watts

3. Motherboard: selectable CPU

4. CPU: 386/33, 486DX2/66 ; Pentium

5. Cache: External 128k, 256k

6. BIOS: AMI : Award: Phoenix

7. Bus: ISA, VLB, PCI, EISA

8. RAM (Mb): 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128

9. Floppy Drive (A): 3YC

10. Floppy Drive (B): 5!4"

11. Floppy Drives (A & B): Both in one

12. (C)Hard Drive (Mb): 345, 540. 1000

13. Drive Controller: /Z)£7 E IDF/PC I

14. SCSI Controller - bootable - nonbootable

15. Keyboard, enhanced, 101 -key

16. Mouse, In Port, PS2; Serial

17. Video Controller: ISA/I ZZ?/PCI

18. Video RAM (Mb): .5, 12,4,8

19. Monitor Brand: Shamrock. Sony, NEC

20. Monitor Type: RGB, CGA, VGA, SVGA

21. Monitor Size: 14", LT, 17", 21"

22. Serial I/O: COAfl-COM2 & COM3-COM4

23. Parallel I/O: LPTL LPT2, LPT3

24. Modem, External ; Internal

25. Modem Type: 28.8-kbys/Fax: 14.4-kbps/Fax;

9600-bps or faster

26. Operating System, Windows 95 : MS-DOS
6.2x-1Vindows For WorkGroups 3.11: MS-
DOS 6.2-Windows 3.1 & up: OS 2. Unix

27. CD-ROM: lx, 2y, 3x, 4x, 6x

28. Sound/Audio Card: SB-16, P.1S-16

29. Speakers: LabTec CS-150 . Peavey

30. Microphone

31. Printer, leaser; Ink Jet: Dot Matrix

32. Scanner, page handheld, color /B& W

From the above list, I can verbalize that the
minimum new computer that you should buy
is a “ 486DX2/66 in a tower case w/150-w
power supply: 8-Mb RAM; AMI Bios; 540-
Mb IDE hard drive and controller; Vesa
Local Bus (VLB); 128-k cache memory>; 3'A"
floppy drive, VLB Video Controller w/l-Mb
RAM, 15" SVGA monitor; two serial ports;
one parallel port; and an external 28.8-kbps
Faxmodem” Your operating system should
be Blndmvs 95, but MS-DOS 6.2x and
Windows For WorkGroups 3.11 are ok.

Optionally , but no less important if budget
permits, you should specify a 2x CD-ROM,
Soundblaster 16 audio card with decent
speakers and a microphone. A dot matrix
printer and a handheld B&W scanner round
out the serious radioist’s computer warbag.

Now this list is not hard and fast, mind you.
It's more of a starting point for those not in
the know. You’ll soon learn, if vou don’t

already know, that nothing is hard and fast in
the computer world. My Buy List is just a
guideline for those who need a frame of
reference. There may be some things on that
list that you know nothing about. If so, don’t
worry about it. The thing is that if you’re
buying a new computer, there is no sense in
underpowering yourself from the onset.

When you’re green and your computer can’t
do certain things, you’ll never do them. If
your computer can do them, but you can’t,
relax: the day will come when you can.

You’ll be told how 4-Mb of RAM is all
you’ll need. Forget it! Modem computing
requires 8-Mb. You’ll be told you’ll need
only about 200-Mb of hard drive space.
Forget it; you need 540-Mb, minimum, and
1-Gb if you’re smart. They’ll say all you
need is a 14” VGA monitor. Hall! Make it
easier on yourself for only a few bucks more.
Go for 15” Super VGA (SVGA), and a 17”
size if you can afford it. Shamrock is a good
economical brand name, but there are others.

Unscrupulous salespeople will tell you a
plain serial mouse is all you need. True,
until you add a modem to the other serial port
and then you’re stuck for technical reasons
I’ll not get into here. Instead, insist on a bus
mouse, either InPort or PS/2. A bus mouse
does not use a serial port nor the precious
IRQ 3 or 4. (Techie jargon.) The tiling is,
computers let you run two serial devices at
the same time without problems. But radio
equipment needs one serial port; a modem
needs one; and if your mouse uses one,
something’s got to give. That’s why a bus
mouse is important (but it also works better
than a serial mouse.)

Modems. Don’t get suckered into slow speed
modems under 9600-bps. Time is money, so
you shouldn’t settle on anything less than the
new v.34 modems with fax and 28.8-kbps
speed. Serial ports must be based on the
16550 UART. The US Robotics Sportster
v.34 Data/Fax, modem is a good buy and is
compatible with just about everything out
there. Whatever you do, get an external
modem. No sense in using a valuable slot in
the computer and besides, the lights are
pretty and there’s more to learn and absorb
from external modems. Resale value is higher
and there’s more you can do with them.

Sound cards for the radioist? ITell yes!
There are dozens of uses for sound cards in
radio, the least of which is sound processing
to extract intelligible audio from noisy
signals. How about DTMF decoding?
CTCSS detection? RTTY, AMTOR, FSK,
and much more are feasible with a sound
card in your computer.

Tower cases important? Sure! They’re
easier to open up and to work inside. Say
what? Well, you’re a hacker, aren’t you?
Hackers dig inside their scanners, and they

may as well dig around inside their
computers, too. Computers were made for
hacking; scanners aren’t. A tower case is
usually roomier and a little better situated for
the hacker who may or may not bother
putting the case back on. Yes, there are a
bunch of things you can add to a computer to
enhance vour radioing pleasure. A tower
case makes it a little easier. And if you can
work inside your computer, you’ll save $$$!
And you’ll be one bad dude or gal around
town! There’s not a lot to it, believe me!

Summarizing, computers and scanners are
becoming inseparable. For many of us, they
already are! You may as well buy smart
when you buy. If you are anti-computer, your
radio days are numbered. The Information
Age is upon us, and it takes a computer to
help with the processing and storing of that
information. For some of you, this may be a
formidable concept. For some of us, it is “old
hat”. But I gotta tell you to get with the
program if you haven’t already done so.

HACKER RESOURCES

Listen up, here’s another resource for you
kick-butt hackers.

MECI

340 E. First Street
Dayton, OH 45402
(800) 344-4465

Internet Catalog: http://WWW.MECI.COM/

MECI appears to be an industrial surplus
house, like our favored Hosfelt Electronics.
But these guys are different enough that
you’ll want to add them to your database.

MECI seems well stocked with electronic
components, fabrication materials, electric
motors, power supplies, fans, wire & cables,
connectors, specialized transformers, and
some slick surprises like a 12-v/l-amp DC
Adapter with 1.2-inm coaxial power plug,
positive polarity: looks like it will fit right up
to the PRO-2004/5/6/2035 and other
scanners with an external DC jack. The best
part is the price of $6.50 ea or $5.50 ea/5 &
up. (Cat No: 600-0225).

PORTABLE POWER RESOURCE

“Batteries for Everything Portable ” is the
motto of

Power Express
3 Portola Road; Unit - A
Portola Valley, CA 94028-7800
(800) 769-3739 (24-hrs/day)

Internet e-mail: powerexpreBsgbatnet. cca
http:/Avww. bavnet.com/powerexpress.html

Power Express carries a wide line of NiCd
and NMU batteries along with a host of
supplies for the road warrior. It’s worth
having their catalog and entry in your
database for times of need. You never know.

n/3 1/95 - 4:43 pm ~ The “World Sc miner Report” © 1991-95; Volume 5, No 6; Page 6

SORRY WE'RE LATE

This issue was started back in July and didn't
hit the mail until the first of September.
Please accept our apologies. I’m having an
odd health problem at the same time that a
stack of other pressing matters came down all
at once. Priorities had to be shuffled and the
time to write was not there. I rationalized
that this is summer when radio traditionally
declines in interest anyway, so we decided to
put this issue on the back burner and take
care of other things.

This is V5N6 with four more to go for the
balance of this publishing year. Regardless
of the delay, we are committed to ten issues
per publishing year, five per half year, and
that’s what you’re assured of getting. We’ve
had a number of calls, letters, and e-mails
wondering where the WSR was. That’s
where. But we’re headed back on track and
expect to be “normal” by the end of the year.
Thanks for your patience.

NEW SCANNER PRODUCT

PAGER DATA SCO PE

JSoft Technology comes to market with their
new pager decoder software and hardware.
(See what I mean about computers ami
radio?) The Pager DataScope interface
hardware consists of a shielded cable with a
DB-9 connector on one end and a Vg" audio
phone plug on the other end. The DB-9
connector is filled with micro-electronics!
The DB-9 goes to the PC's comport and the
audio plug goes to a jack that you install on
the scanner somewhere. On the inside of the
scanner, you run a small shielded cable to the
NFM Discriminator chip’s audio-out pin.
That’s it for the work!

Powered by the PC’s serial port, the Pager
DataScope accepts low-level Discriminator
baseband audio signals and converts pager
data to RS-232C voltage levels. A trimmer
pot in the interface sets a signal trigger level
threshhold to minimize errors and to emulate
commercial pager hardware.

Once you’ve tuned to a pager signal, the
Pager DataScope software does all the rest,
to decode and display pager data, possibly a
very interesting sideline of scanning.

I have a Pager DataScope unit to evaluate
and report on later, but have not had the
opportunity to get into it yet. My delay
should not penalize JSoft Technology and
those of you who are interested in this sort of
thing, admittedly an exciting avenue of
scanning that represents how digital
technology is available to the casual scannist.

For more information, including specs and
prices, contact JSoft Technology, 21414 W.
Honey Lane; Lake Villa, IL 60046, or
e-mail to j softQmcs . com

PROFESSOR PEABODY
RUMINATES & RAPS.... PRO-2035

I finally got some time to catch up on my
letter pile so here’s the poop. My computer
deal just came through and I am the proud
owner of a 486DX2-66 with 8 meg o’ ram
and a nice and big 850 meg hard drive along
side my old 120 meg drive that I had for
years. Now granted this system is not a top
of the line Pentium or whatever but it’s a
quantum leap up from the 386SX-25 I used to
run. The speed is oh so nice!!! My buddy
that I bought the hardware from is running a
75 MHz Pentium and it is so fast it’s scary.

I completed the Zeromatic mod and I must
say it’s a neat and useful mod. Once 1 got the
dust out of my brain and the fog cleared, it all
came together. I first realigned the Zeromatic
circuit in the 2005 after a few r hour warmup
(no transformer) and then tried it out and it
works pretty cool. High power intermods
that are off frequency by more than 3 KHz
are no longer a problem; they are ignored
But I disagree semantically with the author
about it not changing the selectivity of the
radio. If you look at the radio as a black box
and you have a switch that makes intermods
go away by 70 percent lets say, would that
make an apparent increase in selectivity? I
think it does by virtue of they no longer break
squelch and stop the scanning process.

But anyway it’s neat. A guy out in the
boonies of the California mountains won't
see much of a difference, but in a metro area
such as you and I live in, it is a welcome
addition. I have the capability to switch in
either narrow or wide Zeromatic just to
evaluate each setting and I found that the
wide setting is about as useful as the off
setting. So the least parts count and
maximum effect of the mod is just to use it as
off or narnnv.

I had a PRO-2035 in the shop last month for
an S meter. Autotagger and Extended Delay
and after cruising thru the radio and the
service manual, my opinion is that it’s a
stripped down version of the 2004/5/6 series
with a lot of the circuitry now done via
firmware in the MPU. The squelch circuit is
the most offensive in that while using the
Extended Delay mod a squelch break hiss
now comes out of the speaker after the signal
goes away and the ext delay is on because the
mute circuit does not shut off the audio as in
the previous models. More circuitry has to
be added to replicate the old circuit and have
the same operation.

Same deal with the AGC driven S meter.
The op amp is gone and I had to hunt around
to find a point in the AGC line that 1 could
tap olT some voltage and not screw up the
AGC at all. But the S meter circuit is still
the same, as the AGC voltage is a descending
voltage like before but it’s a little higher in

overall amplitude. The pickoff point is the
high side of C283 on the main receiver board
and it’s +.750 volts with no sig and +.600
volts with full sig. Adding some gain in the
S meter amp circuit makes for a wider swing
which the LM3914 likes oh so much.

I don’t like the operation of the diode
detected S meter as you can’t see a birdie on
the meter which affects the AGC and I don’t
think it’s as sensitive as monitoring the AGC
line. But I’m a stubborn Swede. Heh, heh

...Have you ever noticed that the
UK/Australia models of the 2035 use a
different MPU with the P/N of GRE9410?
Their PRO-2035 has full coverage from 760
to 1300 MHz? I tried to order the 9410
model MPU from Tandy National Parts but
the order taker refused to allude to the
possibility that the alternate MPU could be
ordered. She called it an export model and
would not even tell me how to order export
parts so it soimds like the FCC scared the
doodies out of the domestic companies.

My question is, does anyone know how we
can get in touch with a foreign parts supplier
of Tandy parts for MPU conversions?
Changing the MPU is certainly not in the
category of “ easily modified ’ as you know. I
just finished an MPU conversion on a BC-
2500XL and Uniden was happy as a clam to
sell the older model MPU for a cheap $19
plus shipping. It took 3 hours to remove,
clean the area and install and test the new
MPU. The only problem I had was a tiny
solder bridge between 2 pins that flaked the
weather search. Once found, it worked fine
and dandy as it should. The job was worth it
as far as my customer was concerned. My
eyes are pretty good, but a microscope would
make the job a lot easier.

I used a 2x eye loupe to check all the pins
when done and a pencil point tip on my
soldering club. I only blew one pin land and
it was easily repaired with a small piece of
30 gauge wire.

By the way, I put the Data Tone squelch
circuit in a 2006 and after a week of
operation it started to squeal and chirp just
like in some 2005 model radios. The big
capacitor addition stopped the problem cold.
So I will be adding the caps as a precaution
in all future mods but I just wanted to let you
know it happened.

I don’t remember the review of the BC-
2500XL or the BC-300XL, but the 25(X) is a
pretty nice radio with a lot of nice features in
it. Granted firmware is cheap but the RF
performance was excellent also as I used it
for a week to make sure the MPU swap was
solid. Sensitivity was good and the triple
conversion was helpful in the intermoci
department. The only gripe was no
Zeromatic type circuit when in search mode
as with the Radio Shaft models.

8/31/95 —4:43 pm — The “WorldScanner Report” © 7997 - 95 ; Volume 5 , No 6; Page 1

The other groovy thing about the radio is that
there’s the same display chip as in the
2004,5,6 radios and you could wire it up for
operation with full 2-way interface capability.
It has the UPD7225g for display chip. But
wiring the board is tough cuz of the
compactness of design. Well, that’s all the
poop for now.

ED Reply: Yo, Prof, how’s it happening?
We missed you! The world loves you and
wants you back! Let's have some more of
your wizardry before radioing dies off and
goes the wav of the chambermug. I slipped
’em some wizardry of my omr on page 10 this
month, but we need yours, too.

Re your tiew computer, no, a 486DX2/66 is
not a Pentium, but it’s close enough for most
practical purposes. You are not at all
handicapped with it. By the way, I'd suggest
using that 120-Mb dhve as C:\ with just
Windows 95 installed on it, and the new 850-
A fb hard dhve as D: \ for all your data and
other programs. And yes, I strongly suggest
Windows 95 now! I have been an official
Microsoft Beta Tester for Win 95 since May,
1994, and can attest to its power and
capabilities for " Where do you want to go
today? " It ’s worth it!

I think your comments on selectivity> and the
Zeromatic Mod are ok so long as you qualify
that you ’re not talking about IF selectivity\
Obviously, the Zeromatic circuit has no
relation to the IF strip where selectivityr is
established and set. But I agree, when
interference is rejected, that is a form of
selectivity’, eh?

Re the PRO-2035, it didn't really relegate
any of the 2006's hardware functions to
firmware exactly....but the new functions are
almost all firmware, for sure. In fact, there
are only minor differences here and there
between the hardware of the 2006 and the
2035. The Logic/CPU board was totally
redesigned, of course, and it eliminated the
A IITF function altogether. That explains
your hearing a hiss when the Extended Delay
goes into action. I dunno how we'd eliminate
that right off The 2035 also eliminated IC-
10 in the 2006, that infamous little CMOS
bilateral switch in the Squelch circuit. The
PEL circuit differs a little, but looks similar.
Beware, because the Master Reference
Oscillator in the 2035 is 12 MIIz as opposed
to 10 MIIz in the 2004/5/6 series.

Frankly, the PRO-2035 is not destined for
fame and notoriety’: it has already been
replaced by Radio Shack with the PRO-2042,
but I know little more yet because the local
stores don ’1 have the new catalogs in stock
yet. If true, then the PRO-2035 will amount
to only a bridge between the venerable
2004 '5 6 series and whatever is to be the next
great series, perhaps like the PRO-2005

bridged the gap between the PRO-2004 and
the PRO-2006,

.4 lot of people have spoken highly of the. BC-
2500XLT, so maybe there is something to it
as a decent scanner. Unfortunately, it’s gone
now, replaced by the BC-3000XLT.

I can 7 say for sure, because we ve had no
requests and done no research, but it looks
like the CE-232 Scanner/Computer Interface
could be workable with the BC-2500XLT.
The 4x7 keyboard and the UPD7225g LCD
Display chip are certainly compatible
enough. The Catch-22 is how the Serial Data
and Command Data are done. Chip Select
and Clocking are probably compatible, but I
can't imagine Uniden and GRE having the
same formats of data flow, and if they're not
the same, then the BC-2500 data stream
would have to be decoded and a whole, new
control program written for the CE-232. If
that has to be done, then it could not be cost
effective thanks to little or no demand. I
wonder if the BC-3000XLT is similar in
design? At worst, the CE-232 can probably
be made to serve as a 1-wav controller for
the BC-2500XLT. I could mite a *.PER file
for it, if someone (you?) wanted to try\

Ummm, what's this about a big difference
between the diode S-meter and AGC S-meter
versions? How? AGC is derived through a
diode at the same place we hang our own S-
meter diodes. Same source, same diodes.
Maybe you could look into that for a future
article or something?

Hey, good to hear from you again. Prof!

FROM THE READERS

fl

Radio Shack Parts in

Canada

From: Robert Keene, DownesviewXanada

Robert called to inform us that Radio Shack’s
outlet in Canada is 1-705-728-7474 ext 4384
OR 1-800-661-2390. EL panels sell for
$25.67, part U L2082.

SHORTWAVE ANTENNA NOTES
From: Larry Gibes, Longmont, CO

I have a question about shortwave antennas.
Can I simply make a 1/4 wave loop? Do I
comiect one end to ground? My radio doesn’t
have an antenna jack. Is it easy to add one?

ED: Shortwave is generally defined as 2-30
MHz. A quarter-wave loop will vary from
just under 3-ft dia at 30 MHz to about 40-ft
dia at 2 MHz. Trouble is, a loop will
function as such only over a very narrow
band of frequencies, typically about ±10% of
the frequency’. Loops are not specifically
grounded, but one end of the loop is
connected to the shield of the coax while the
other end of the loop is connected to the
center conductor of the coax. Again,
loops are narrow banded and generally not
idea for shortwave listening unless you know

what you 're doing and what to expect. For a
quick and dirty? higher performance antenna,
just throw up as much wire as you can, as
high as possible off the ground. 50-100 ft
usually works wonders for a portable SfV.

You should be able to add an external
antenna connector easily enough, depending
on the radio and a place to put it. Use either
a female BNC connector or a female 80-239
connector, chassis-mount for either type.
Install it. Ensure the shell of the connector
connects inside the radio to chassis or PCB
ground. The center lug of the connector can
be wired to where ever the portable antenna
or internal antenna is wired.

An external “Ion gw ire " antenna can also just
have an alligator clip on its end, that clips to
the portable antenna, if there is one.

CTCSS & PL ami OTHER DECODERS
From: Joseph Shvnn, Toronto, Canada
Could you have another look at your PL
Board mod in Volume II of your Scanner
Modification Handbook. The equivalent of
your state police up here use a system which
maintains the carrier after voice is finished;
locking the scanner with carrier squelch.

Perhaps a recommendation to resume
scanning after loss of tone by means of the
other output of the tone board would help!
Oh yeah, more pictures of Cindy and less of
you... 104 Best wishes & regards.

ED: Just for that, I'm printing a full double
page spread of mv mug, and no more Cindy!
I'm better looking than she! © But anyway,
do you have my CTCSS/PL tone article
confused with my later Data/Tone Squelch
module (MOD-44)? There is no relationship
of PL tones to after-transmission carriers or
anti-scanner signals. CTCSS or PL tones are
subaudible precise tones that allow fleet
supervisors to render mobile radios silent on
receive except when their own base or other
mobile units are talking. This prevents the
working crews from paying attention to other
companies who share the same frequency.

On the other hand, V1N10 of the IVSR
presented my renowned Data/Tone Squelch
(DSO) that prevents the scanner from locking
or staying locked onto audible tones,
computer data signals and other non-voice
signals. The PRO-2004/5/6 and 2035
scanners already have SOUND SQUELCH
that works much the same way except on
dead or silent carriers. Finally, there is what
is called the “Toronto MetroMod", a special
tone decoder that keeps the scanner from
hearing those anti-scanner tones between
transmissions. This moil was presented also
in V1N10. I think one of these two latter
mods is more to your needs than messing
with the CTCSS/PL decoder mod. This stuff
can be mighty confusing, to say the least.
See VINK) for the gory details..

8/31/95-4:55pm~ The “WorldScanner Report” © 1991-95; Volume 5, No 6; Page 8

PRO-2035/CE-232 NOTES

From: William Shaft. Tinlev Park, IL

Dear Bill, I have decided to interface the CE-
232 with the PRO-2035. It’s a yet to
accomplish task for me, but I have the service
manual and one for my PRO-2004.

Finding out Bill Cheek and his electronic can
do's has helped me a lot. I have no electronic
background and everything I learned was
from books and trial & error . I did learn
how come from every mistake.

My First kit was a one tube radio in a
cardboard box with a piece of plywood in the
bottom to mount parts 22.5 B + 1 1/2 volt
power and modification instructions to
convert it to a two tube shortwave receiver. I
spent a lot of time past my bedtime listening
to the ham bands through my Western
Electric headphone.

I enjoyed your last copy of the WSR. You
had the last persuasion I needed to convince
me to retire with a 30-yr pension from a steel
mill (at 53-yrs old) and never want a serious
job again. I have my health and my brain and
am going from there. Sincerely. PS. Thanks
for your help and wisdom.

ED: Well, I hope any influence I had was to
yon doing something meaningful, fun, and
profitable! I got a philosophy, Willie, that
the Good Lord comes around now and again
just looking for volunteers, kind of like my
old Chief used to do back in the Navy. He 'd
come in and pick people who weren't busy
and haul 'em off for who-knows-what. But
he'd leave the busy ones the hell alone. I
figure the Good Lord is a lot like that old
Chief. Ya never know when he's gonna come
calling, but if he's got a choice, I reckon
he'll pick those who don't have anything
much to do. Hey, if we 're busy on something
good, then he 'll leave us be, if he can.

So, whatever you do, don't lay around and
look like you ain't got anything to do.
Besides, the missus won 7 take a shine to you
waliering around underfoot all the time. You
find yourself something needful and fun to do
for your T d 30-yr career, if you know what's
good for you. Something that makes people
happy would be about right. Am I wrong?

Now what I want to know is where did you
get that Western Electric Headphone?
When I was a kid, I got mine from phone
booths. All ya had to do was unscrew that
earpiece and help yourself. Same with the
mouthpiece for that matter. They were free in
those days. You could even get a whole
handset if you wanted it, but my Ma knew
what those were and disallowed 'em. She
didn 7 know about the mouthpieces and
earpieces, though.

We are now including instructions and
software for the PRO-2035 as standard in all
CE-232 Kits. All Kits sold after 9/1/95 will
have program module and full instructions
for the PRO-2004/5/6 and PRO-2035 at no
extra cost.

For upgraders, we can provide the latest CE-
232 Program Dusk-Only with Supplementary
Instructions Software for the PRO-2035 for
handling costs of $14.95, ppd. The Disk-
Only contains full software and an ASCII
textfile manual for the PRO-2004/5/6/2035.
Printed instructions for the PRO-2035 will be
included with the Disk-Only, only upon
request. The full, printed CE-232 Manual
remains unchanged at $25, deductible
against an order placed within 30-days. The
CE-232 Developer's Kit (3 rd party>
programmer clues & hints) is FREE from the
BBS as filename: CEDEIELP.ZIP or $29.95
ppd, as a disk & laser printed booklet. These
offers are standard and available to all now.

WSR & MAGAZINE ON DISK?
From: Raymond Reese, Bremerton, WA

Called to suggest we incorporate the WSR
into an electronic MAGAZINE ON DISK. At
the very least put particulars of what it would
take, cost, etc. in next issue and let the
readers decide...(What a Great Idea). 1 ! Chidij)

ED: Oh nooooo that's not a great idea.
With the HSR on-disk, our work would be
copied and spread around the world within
24-hrs by unscrupulous people who have no
regafd for copyrights. Enough of my work
appears around the Internet as it is. I admit,
it would be nice if we could do that. And
maybe the day will come when we can. Right
now, I don 7 know exactly how to do it and
still protect our rights, but more importantly,
I don 7 know how to do it and present all the
graphics and photos in a format universally
acceptable to all. The idea is under
consideration, but don 7 look for
implementation any time real soon.

BC-855XLT TALK ~

From: Alan Gorsuch, Homestead, FL

I don’t expect an answer to this, but I just
wanted to let you know that I modified my
BC-855XLT (date code: OKIB) by the
instructions on pi 47 of The Ultimate Scanner
and that both mods, cellular restoration and
memory upgrade, worked perfectly.

Cellular restoration is hardly worth the
trouble because the image rejection of this
receiver is so poor that a large chunk of the
cellular band can be heard anyway. It comes
through loud and clear in the 894 to 916 MHz
range, 21.7 MHz above the actual frequency.
I have bought two other BC-855XLTs for
gifts and they had the same design defect. I
don’t listen to the cellular band, so consider
this to be of technical interest only. The
memory upgrade from 50 to 100 channels is

8/31/95 - 4.56 pm- The “WorldScanner Report” © 1991-95; Volume 5, No 6; Page 9

CONFIDENTIAL SUBSCRIPTK3N ORDER: Please PrintClearfy!

Subscriber No. f

109/01/95 SUBSCRIPTION RATES & ORDER BLANK

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[USA RATES shown Canaria add 25%; Other Foreign +25%-surf or +50%-Air

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Scanner Mod Hndbk, Vol-1: $17.95 + $4.00 S&H *

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Scanners & Secret Frequencies: $19.95 + $4.00 S&H *

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Issuing Bank Date:

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* Canada US$9 S&H; Other Foreign US$11 S&H; all add extra for Air

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Signature Required (for credit card purchases)

CE-232 Interface Kit: $194 95 + $5 S&H; All Foreign add $10-surf

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!

Hertzian Intercept BBS Subs $8/mo $15/3-mo $25/6-mo $40/yr S75/2-yr

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Ummm

HOBBY RADIO BUYER'S DIRECTORY $14.95 ppd. surf

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What else to tell us?

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Calif addresses add 7 25% sales tax to all orders except subcrioions

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TOTAL THtS ORDER: ~^>>

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well worth the price of the book. Keep up the good
work. I hope to see future books from you.

ED: Oh, I suppose there will be wore books, but
right now I aw waiting for feedback frow people as
to WHAT KIND of books they want. Frankly, the
out and out modification/hack books have seen
better days, I think. Scanners are going over to

firmware and simply cannot be hacked. Eve been
thinking of doing detailed hack wanuals for specific
scanners, but no one has given we any input to
speak of, so I ’w hanging high and dry.

The BC-S55XLT is an exawple of what's not

possible anymore . today’s scanners cannot be

hacked for either cellular coverage nor for wewory,
except for a decreasing few.

SUPER-SNOOP MICROPHONE!

Here is a wicked little tape recorder tool for situations
where the built-in microphone just doesn't pick up all
the sounds that you want. My little (and I mean tiny)
preamplified microphone will tum your deaf tape
recorder, audio amplifier or other listening device into
a set of "ears" so sensitive that it will pick up the
sound of a pair of frolicking gnats at 50-feet! My
Super-Snoop-Mic permits a tape recorder to clearly
detect even a faint whisper in a fair sized room. The
output of my Super-Snoop-Mic can be fed into an
earphone amplifier or any audio device for
exceptional sensitivity and fidelity. In fact, this puppy
can serve as a cheap hearing aid for all sorts of low-
level audio needs! If is especially suited for
government operatives, eavesdroppers, private dicks,
students, and hobbyists who need better recordings!

Build your Super-Snoop-Mic on a small piece of perf
board, or as I did. point-to-point without a board! A
#18 stiff copper wire (ground) can form the backbone
structure of the assembly. Use your imagination to
create the housing. I used Radio Shack's 272-340
mini lamp holder with the lamp holder guts removed,
to hold everything including the electret Mic element
and the Gain Adjust trimmer potentiometer.

You might do better or worse with another design,
but be creative: build it into a pen. cigarette lighter,
or something equally unobtrusive. I modeled one
unit after a Vietnam surveillance device that looked
like an animal dropping. This “style” can be
conspicuously placed, if hiding isn’t possible, because
no one in their right mind is likely to handle it!

SUPER-SNOOP-MIC - PARTS LIST

Ckt

Svm

Description

Radio Shack
Catalog #

Mic

Electret microphone element

270-090

R1

Resistor, lk. 1/4-watt

271-1321

R2

Resistor, 10-k. 1/4-watt

271-1335

R3

Resistor, 33-k. 1 /4-watt

271-1341

R4

Resistor. 4.7-k, 1/4-watt

271-1330

R5

Resistor, 100 ohm, 1/4-watt

271-1311

Cl-3

Capacitors, tantalum. 10-uF

272-1436

C4

Capacitor, tantalum, 2.2-uF

272-1435

VR1

Trimmer potentiometer. 100-k

271-284

Ql

Tmstr. NPN. 2N2222A/sim :

276-2009/2016

other obstacles and still perform a superb job. It
sports a voltage amplification factor of 47 or a power
gain of 33-dB. This might be too much for some
situations, so a GAIN control is included in the output
circuit to adjust for exacting needs. Polish off the
Super-Snoop-Mic with a flexible patch cable,
preferably shielded mini-coax with a phone plug on
the end to mate with the audio device of your choice.

Front View of VR-1

Gnd (-):

Audio Out

There's nothing critical to the circuit but tantalum
capacitors and precision metal film resistors for R-l,
R-2 & R-3 will minimize internally generated noise
and help establish a super low tlireshold of detection!
Radio Shack has a good supply of tantalum
capacitors but you might have to go to an electronics
supply house for the precision metal film resistors.
Then again, you might find the needed values in
Radio Shack's PMF resistor assortment package. 271-
309. Good results can be obtained from the values
specified in the Parts List, however.

The Super-Snoop-Mic requires a DC supply of 2.5v-
3.5v with 3v optimum. I designed the amplifier to be
powered from the pair of AA batteries in a
microcassette tape recorder which comprised the
majority of my needs. You can also use a pair of
silver oxide, mercury, or other hearing-aid batteries to
power the unit for a reasonable time; current drain is
low at 1-ma or so. The Super-Snoop-Mic can be
readily concealed beneath layers of clothing, and

Rear View of VR-1

Audio

Audio Out-
+3v-

IffKH

Hole To Rem ° ve lam P h0| ding p k /,
m .. . . /Q , mechanism to make ; acK w /co « on

Adjust VR-1 room for electronics t0 P rotec « mlc

Oh, the Super-Snoop Mic can be microminiaturized
with chip caps/resistors, and it can serve as the audio
pickup for RF listening devices. Uses, styles, and
methods are virtually unlimited! Have fun!

8 / 31 / 95 -5:35pm~ The “World Scanner Report” © 1991-95; Volume 5, No 6; Page 10

COMMtronics ENGINEERING'S
W/WMF
PO BOR 262478
SAN DIEGO, CA 92196-2478

s ^Td7>

SEP-T95

^Av$y

DEADLINE FOR CONTEST THIS MONTH IS 9/30/95 - SEE PAGE 1

950829V5N06P10

IN THIS ISSUE

ISSN-1061-9240

t- Pet Peeve Contest Extended to 9/30/95 - Why Air Our Pet Peeves
i DEFLATOR^ AOL.COM is Peeved! ~ Scanner Data Base from Roy Scltahrer
i In Memoriam: Win. Wilson, Aberdeen. UK ~ The Future of Radio & Scanning
+ Howto Buy a Computer for Shack & Station ~~ Computer Buylist/Checklist
f Hacker Resources: MECI and Power Express ~ Sorry We’re Late (and why)

+ New Scanner Product: Pager DataScope ~ Radio Shack Parts in Canada
i Prof. Peabody Ruminates & Raps; PRO-2035 & more
f Shortwave Antenna Notes ~ CTCSS, PL. & Other Decoder Notes
! PRO-2035/CE-232 Notes ~ BC-855XLT Talk
+ Pow'erful Super Snoop Microphone Project